Beck, lavishing praise on FreedomWorks’s new social network website this year, seemed to acknowledge the blurriness of the line between his show’s content and messages paid for by advertisers.

“This is a new thing from FreedomWorks and by the way, they are sponsor of this program and I have a commercial to do for them in, well, in just a few minutes. I don’t think they’re going to get one because this is pretty much it,” he said on his show, in a clip that’s posted on his personal website. “But it is something that I believe in, I’m not saying this because they’re paying me to do a commercial in a couple of minutes. This is something that I think is absolutely critical.”

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To be sure, the hosts’ political perspectives dovetail with those of their endorsees and their paid sponsorships do not preclude them from discussing – or even praising – other groups.

And the integration of sponsors and their causes into the content of conservative talkers’ shows is not unique to advocacy groups and think tanks, as Beck demonstrated in 2009 when he melded his frequent warnings of impending economic collapse with his promotion of gold, generally, and the precious metals retailer that sponsored his show, Goldline, specifically.

The increased willingness of non-profits to write big checks for such radio endorsements – which appears to have started in 2008, when Heritage paid $1.2 million to sponsor the talk shows hosted by Hannity and Laura Ingraham – seems to be a primarily, if not entirely, a conservative phenomenon.

That’s perhaps attributable to the enduring power of talk radio on the right, as well as a newer development, the explosion of grassroots engagement by tea partiers and other newly mobilized Republican activists, which has spurred a competition for grass roots support – and contributions - among conservative groups.

Heritage estimates that it in each of the past two years, its sponsorships with Limbaugh and Hannity brought in more than 40,000 new memberships starting at the $25 level, while FreedomWorks said that in the three months after its Beck sponsorship started in April 2010, the group saw a huge spike in traffic to its website (which featured a photo of Beck linked to a fundraising appeal), resulting in 50,000 new email sign-ups.

Americans for Prosperity wouldn’t divulge any details about its sponsorship of Levin, but board member Art Pope said the endorsement “makes AfP’s position on issues and policies more widely known and it also does attract grassroots activists or potential donors to AfP.”

The groups pay the companies that distribute the hosts’ shows, and not the hosts directly, for the endorsements.

While the deals differ, most provide the sponsoring group a certain number of messages or so called “live-reads,” in which the host will use a script, outline or set of talking points to deliver an advertisement touting the group and encouraging listeners to visit its website or contribute to it.

If you’re a regular listener of Glenn Beck’s radio show and you wanted to contribute to a political group that would advance the populist conservative ideals

Isn't this the same thing the Washington POST did when they got caught Red-handed pimping for the Obama Administration when he and Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid were ramming Obamacare through Congress?

Wasn't the WASHINGTON POST caught trying to pimp for between $25K and $250K for favorable pro-Obama stories?

And POLITCO wasn't it you who broke the story on the POST?

And remember POLITCO the WASHINGTON POST was going to do an "internal investigation" on the pimping?

Would be nice how the POST's own "internal investigation" went because we must have missed the results......

Bottom line, again, is Ideologues have taken our our "Free Press" both from the Left and Right...........the LEFT controls much of the MSM wolfpack press......

Example............T-Paw................because this guy didn't go for Romney's throat in the debate BOTH the Left and Right attacks T-Paw and some news political organizations have written him off. Now you see them starting, already, to try to boost Bachmann................

Gee- a politico article that does not say anything but is aimed at right wing radio. A non story while America burns under the rule of the muslim socialist community organizer in chief (who killed OBL)

With all the new regulations that the Obama administration is putting into place to protect Americans from the evils of corporations I don't understand why they can't just shut down these nut-case right-wing broadcasters. Why have Presidential power if you don't use it?

With all the new regulations that the Obama administration is putting into place to protect Americans from the evils of corporations I don't understand why they can't just shut down these nut-case right-wing broadcasters. Why have Presidential power if you don't use it?

Have you ever heard of the first amendment ? Freedom of speech ring a bell?? Your comment reflects either your lack of education or you are a socialist, communist or facist. You are are well qualified muslim socialist in chief supporter.

Most people are probably aware that crazy right wing radio is crooked as a carnival game. One has to listen to them only briefly to gauge the quality to of the advertisers.and to ascertain the danger of trading with them. Credit repair scams, Gold trading scams, ect. ect. ect. more scams ect. ect. Talk for five minutes....more scams ect.

It is quite rare to hear a normal advertiser, as these shows do not have a large audience. I believe if you polled customers who did business with their advertisers you would probably discover a long list of dissatified customers.

Even a train wreck attracts customers.......... and yes there is a sucker born every minute.

How interesting. Obviously, Politico wanted to do a hit piece on conservatives (no surprise there), but what they actually did was just push around some fluff. That's all you can do, I suppose, when there is no real story. It does give a chance, however, for the kook base to foam in their comments about "why they can't just shut down these nut-case right-wing broadcasters. Why have Presidential power if you don't use it?" Yikes! Have any of these folks heard of the Bill of Rights?

Everyone knows that shows have sponsors. Even CNN and MSNBC have sponsors. Hollywood does the same thing for its sponsors in TV sitcoms, dramas, and theatrical movies, either in the scripted dialogue or through product placement, etc.

There just happens to be no comparably successful leftwing radio shows, by definition. So that breeds jealousy.

Taking money in exchange for a solid minute of saying nice things about an organization - isn't that what they call a commercial. Is there some problem with that?

Now over and above the commercials, all these talk show hosts say nice things about the organizations from time to time because they genuinely like them. Is there some problem with that?

Is someone implying that these sponsoring organizations have a say over the content of the programs? BALONEY. Back-door control over program content is a liberal idea practiced by all the mainstream "news" networks which have morphed into nothing more than the propaganda wing of the socialist party. .

Taking money in exchange for a solid minute of saying nice things about an organization - isn't that what they call a commercial. Is there some problem with that?

Now over and above the commercials, all these talk show hosts say nice things about the organizations from time to time because they genuinely like them. Is there some problem with that?

Is someone implying that these sponsoring organizations have a say over the content of the programs? BALONEY. Back-door control over program content is a liberal idea practiced by all the mainstream "news" networks which have morphed into nothing more than the propaganda wing of the socialist party. .